[Alexdad54]

Do you know if the Hub is actually providing external power to the USB - what is the quality of this power? You really need to answer these questions before you can evaluate.

RCA connectors are NOT 75 ohm & can never be!

To use an attenuator buy a RCA to BNC adaptor!

I know that RCA's are not 75 ohm, I was just hoping that it might be a better quality adaptor

According to the hub instructions if the blue led light came on, then it was switched to external power.

re attentuators, I would need to use 2 RCA to BNC adaptors then as  I don't have BNC's on either the HiFace or the Havana.

To be honest, I'm pretty happy with how the 1.5m GH spdif cable sounds and am more concerned about the possibility that I may have a HiFace that was manufactured with different clocks than the original...TBD...see this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/503323/hiface-sensitive-information

[jkeny]

I know that RCA's are not 75 ohm, I was just hoping that it might be a better quality adaptor

According to the hub instructions if the blue led light came on, then it was switched to external power.

re attentuators, I would need to use 2 RCA to BNC adaptors then as  I don't have BNC's on either the HiFace or the Havana.

You only need one

To be honest, I'm pretty happy with how the 1.5m GH spdif cable sounds and am more concerned about the possibility that I may have a HiFace that was manufactured with different clocks than the original...TBD...see this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/503323/hiface-sensitive-information

Well, that's up to you, I guess!

[Alexdad54]

You only need one

If so then there's something here I don't understand. If the attenuator is BNC in and out (such as the one you mentioned in another site, the HAT-10-75 or the Pasternack 7009-10)and I have only RCA's on my HiFace and DAC then how do I hook it up with one adaptor?

[jkeny]

Ah, you're correct, sorry 

[rklein]

Well, I have gone ahead and purchased a Boxed HiFace with the modded 3.3v and internal battery power supply from John Kenny.  I have heard wonderful things in regards to John's mods to the HiFace and since I have committed myself to this direction, I contacted John and should have my HiFace by the end of next week.

I have yet to settle on the DAC to replace my modded Zhalou 2.0 DAC, which is absolutely no slouch with the mods I have done to it.  I've looked and read about the EE, Neko, W4S and of course DIY DACS such as the Buffalo II and the ACKODAC.  I am leaning towards the Buffalo II as it is much less money than the ACKO and I could come in at just around a grand if I add Paul Hynes regs.  I am waiting on Acko to get back to me with prices on all the modules needed for a fully functioning DAC.  I will also be buying some attenuators both 6 and 10 db.

Yours,

Randy

[jkeny]

Well, I have gone ahead and purchased a Boxed HiFace with the modded 3.3v and internal battery power supply from John Kenny.  I have heard wonderful things in regards to John's mods to the HiFace and since I have committed myself to this direction, I contacted John and should have my HiFace by the end of next week.

Yes, Randy, thank you for ordering it. I expect to post it tomorrow & it normally takes 7 days 

I have yet to settle on the DAC to replace my modded Zhalou 2.0 DAC, which is absolutely no slouch with the mods I have done to it.  I've looked and read about the EE, Neko, W4S and of course DIY DACS such as the Buffalo II and the ACKODAC.  I am leaning towards the Buffalo II as it is much less money than the ACKO and I could come in at just around a grand if I add Paul Hynes regs.  I am waiting on Acko to get back to me with prices on all the modules needed for a fully functioning DAC.  I will also be buying some attenuators both 6 and 10 db.

Yours,

Randy

Another money saving & best sounding tip - use the 3.3V batteries where possible on the DAC - better than any regulator & cheaper than most!

[rklein]

I want to order some attenuators from MiniCircuits.  Do I order the + version or the regular version?  It says the +version is lead free.  I was going to order 2 10db and 2 6db.  Any comments would be welcome

Thanks,

Randy

[mgalusha]

The + is all they stock.

[rklein]

Thanks Mike. 

[audiofanaat]

I normally play audio with an Maudio 24/96 Audiophile, connected to a NOS DAC, playing only 44.1 files, sounds wonderfull!
A friend gave me his Hiface to try but I cannot get it working properly?
I installed it on my audiopc and it gives a distorted sound. As my audiopc has a tweaked Windows XP I installed XP-SP3 from scratch with all the options but still: the sound is scrambled/distorted.
I have 2 audiopc's and both give the same results!
Playing the Hiface on my EEEpc with XP works like a charm, just installing the driver, connect to the same DAC, no problems whatsoever?

I use the 103141 driver (latest) on XP-SP3 32bit. Does the driver have dependancies I am not aware of (like ".NET") or am I missing something else?

[ebag4]

I normally play audio with an Maudio 24/96 Audiophile, connected to a NOS DAC, playing only 44.1 files, sounds wonderfull!
A friend gave me his Hiface to try but I cannot get it working properly?
I installed it on my audiopc and it gives a distorted sound. As my audiopc has a tweaked Windows XP I installed XP-SP3 from scratch with all the options but still: the sound is scrambled/distorted.
I have 2 audiopc's and both give the same results!
Playing the Hiface on my EEEpc with XP works like a charm, just installing the driver, connect to the same DAC, no problems whatsoever?

I use the 103141 driver (latest) on XP-SP3 32bit. Does the driver have dependancies I am not aware of (like ".NET") or am I missing something else?

Hi audiofanaat,
Unfortunately I cannot answer your question since I do not own a M2 Tech unit yet.  However I am also running an XP SP3 PC with an Maudio 2496 PCI card and the digital coax feeding my NOS DAC (Havana).  Can you tell me what differences you hear between the EEEPC w/M2Tech versus the XP w/Maudio?

Thanks,
Ed

[audiofanaat]

Hello Ed,

So far I have not listened to the real difference as I was trying to solve the problem I have. This evening a friend of mine is coming over and we will try and make a comparison between the EEEpc/HiFace and the Maudio.
I think the Maudio is a very nice card, "musical" is a better word! The HiFace will have to work hard I think. I will post results as soon as I have them.

Regards,

Kees

[ebag4]

Hello Ed,

So far I have not listened to the real difference as I was trying to solve the problem I have. This evening a friend of mine is coming over and we will try and make a comparison between the EEEpc/HiFace and the Maudio.
I think the Maudio is a very nice card, "musical" is a better word! The HiFace will have to work hard I think. I will post results as soon as I have them.

Regards,

Kees

Thanks for the reply Kees, I look forward to your thoughts on the differences.

I didn't notice that was your first post.  Welcome to AC!!

Best,
Ed

[HAL]

Let us know what processor is being used in the PC you are trying that is not working correctly.   There seems to be issues with AMD processors, certain USB controllers and the HiFace. 

I am using the HiFace with both an Intel Atom on my EeePC Netbook and my Core2 Duo laptop running XP SP3 or Win7.  I am using either the Kernel Streaming mode or the WASAPI interface with Foobar2000 v 1.03 with great results.

Another thing to check is that the USB port is really a USB2 port.

Just some thoughts.

[ebag4]

Let us know what processor is being used in the PC you are trying that is not working correctly.   There seems to be issues with AMD processors, certain USB controllers and the HiFace. 

I am using the HiFace with both an Intel Atom on my EeePC Netbook and my Core2 Duo laptop running XP SP3 or Win7.  I am using either the Kernel Streaming mode or the WASAPI interface with Foobar2000 v 1.03 with great results.

Another thing to check is that the USB port is really a USB2 port.

Just some thoughts.

Hi Hal,
I am currently looking at my options with regard to source.  Do you hear any differences between the Atom and the Core duo setups?

Thanks,
Ed

[HAL]

Ed,
They sound the same to me.  I switch between KS and WASAPI modes depending on the material.  So far I think WASAPI on Win7 sounds great with the HiFace.   

Just to be clear, I use batteries to power the HiFace, so no dependence on either of the PC's USB2 power supplies.   

[audiofanaat]

Let us know what processor is being used in the PC you are trying that is not working correctly.   There seems to be issues with AMD processors, certain USB controllers and the HiFace. 

I am using the HiFace with both an Intel Atom on my EeePC Netbook and my Core2 Duo laptop running XP SP3 or Win7.  I am using either the Kernel Streaming mode or the WASAPI interface with Foobar2000 v 1.03 with great results.

Another thing to check is that the USB port is really a USB2 port.

Just some thoughts.

Last night I got a bit of a result with the HiFace that I would like to share:

It looks as if the HiFace hates chipsets from VIA and/or indeed AMD. My CPU is an older AMD Thunderbird 3000+ and my mainboard has a VIA chipset.
I disabled the onboard USB and installed an ALI USB PCI card and hey presto: the HiFace works! Connecting a wireless keyboard and mouse to the same USB card is impossible though. If mouse/keyboard is connected the HiFace plays the music at a higher speed (??, sounds like pitch-control) with crackles and clicks. If I remove keybord/mouse while playing music the sound goes back to normal within 5 seconds.

Today I will connect a normal keyboard and mouse so that I can listen to some music and compare with my Maudio.

[ebag4]

Ed,
They sound the same to me.  I switch between KS and WASAPI modes depending on the material.  So far I think WASAPI on Win7 sounds great with the HiFace.   

Just to be clear, I use batteries to power the HiFace, so no dependence on either of the PC's USB2 power supplies.   

Thanks Hal.  I am aware you are not using the 5 volts from the PC, I have read that thread and you entries with interest.  It is goo to know that you are not hearing a difference, I am considering building a fanless PC that will actually live in the listening space.

Last night I got a bit of a result with the HiFace that I would like to share:

It looks as if the HiFace hates chipsets from VIA and/or indeed AMD. My CPU is an older AMD Thunderbird 3000+ and my mainboard has a VIA chipset.
I disabled the onboard USB and installed an ALI USB PCI card and hey presto: the HiFace works! Connecting a wireless keyboard and mouse to the same USB card is impossible though. If mouse/keyboard is connected the HiFace plays the music at a higher speed (??, sounds like pitch-control) with crackles and clicks. If I remove keybord/mouse while playing music the sound goes back to normal within 5 seconds.

Today I will connect a normal keyboard and mouse so that I can listen to some music and compare with my Maudio.

Thanks Kees, that is good info.  Please be certain to post what you hear in comparison to the Maudio.

Best,
Ed

[audiofanaat]

Update HiFace with VIA/ALI chipset:

As I wrote earlier I installed a PCI USB card with an ALI chipset, I made sure the additional USB card is not sharing an IRQ or INT.
It still does not work properly. The distortion is a lot less, if I just listen to music it is OK besides a few clicks every now and then. The moment I use keyboard or mouse (even a PS2 type) the distortion is back.
As the HiFace does not work properly with 2 completely different USB chipsets I dare say the HiFace is very "picky"!

As to sound comparing to Maudio: at this moment I cannot listen to it properly as I have a small infection in one of my ears (audiophiles worst nightmare!), at this moment mono would sound as good as stereo! 
As soon as I have updates on the sound I will post it.

[audiofanaat]

As I cannot get the HiFace working with my current chipset I cannot compare it to my Maudio properly. The only way to get the HiFace working is sending it to the manufacturer for a firmware update and it is not sure if it will work with the new firmware.
It is a pity that firmware updates cannot be done like BIOS updates on a motherboard.